The invention relates generally to animal husbandry and, more particularly, to body-worn protective shields used in connection with birds and bird handling.
While the legs of many species of birds are free of spurs or have only vestigial spurs, other species such as pheasants, turkeys and chickens have very pronounced spurs. Birds with spurs instinctively know how to use them in defense or aggression.
In the case of mass-produced farm birds, such as chickens and turkeys raised for food, injuries (to birds) caused by birds are of scant concern. But in the case of birds which are specially bred for show or in anticipation of a prize or recognition, injury is a greater concernxe2x80x94often much greater. For example, a specially-bred prize turkey may be worth several hundred dollars when free of injury, but the same bird becomes essentially worthless if, for example, it is blinded in one eye by the spur of another bird. In this connection, it should be appreciated that birds are relatively fragile, and it takes very little by way of a scratch or blow from a spur to inflict injury, especially to the eye.
The matter of potential injury is aggravated by the fact that it is not uncommon to keep two or more birds in a single cage. Some breeds of birds tend to be more high-strung and xe2x80x9cedgyxe2x80x9d than others, and have a propensity to fight when they are kept in a cage.
Some breeders of birds remove substantially the entirety of both leg spurs; in such cases a bird is said to have xe2x80x9cslipped spurs.xe2x80x9d But a stump remains and, even in such cases, birds instinctively use that part of the leg for defense or aggression. In other words, whether birds have full spurs or mere spur stumps, covering the spurs can be important in preventing bird injury.
To help prevent spur-related injuries to birds, spur xe2x80x9cmuffsxe2x80x9d have been available for many years. One type of muff has a generally spherical outer cover made of sewn vinyl or leather stuffed with a padded fabric liner having a depression which receives the spur when the muff is fitted to the bird""s leg. A significant recent improvement is the molded elastomeric spur-shrouding device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,096 (Irizarry, the inventor herein), entitled xe2x80x9cSpur Glove for Birds.xe2x80x9d The present invention is a significant improvement over such prior art,
The prior art elastomeric spur-shrouding device includes an integrally-molded spur cover and retaining strap. The spur cover forms a spur-receiving cavity which extends generally along an axis from an open end to a closed end. The retaining strap extends from the spur cover and has an aperture in it. The strap is wound around the leg of the bird and then applied over the spur cover such that the spur cover is inserted through the aperture, to hold the device in place.
The spur cover, which is usually an elastomeric material having a hardness of no more than about 25 durometer (most typically about 15) on a Shore A hardness scale and a percent elongation of at least 300% (most typically at least 600%), has a fairly thick wall (for example, from about 0.25 to 0.5 inch) in order to properly cover the spur. Despite such shielding, however, covered spurs can be poked through and/or ruptured, depending upon a number of factors, including the size of a particular spur and the fury with which the bird exercises its aggressive or defensive instincts. This drawback is contrary to the purposes of the spur-shrouding device, and is also harmful to the spur-shrouding.
Placing a loose insert disk with greater puncture resistance (than the spur cover itself) into the closed end of the spur-receiving cavity is inadequate as a proposed solution of the aforementioned problems. Such devices tend not to stay either in the right position or in the right orientation at such position, and are easily prone to dislodgement by interaction with the spur. Furthermore, they fail to provide adequate protection for the spur cover material.
An improved spur-shrouding device addressing the aforementioned problems and shortcomings would be an important advance in the field of this invention.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved spur-shrouding device overcoming some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device for protecting birds having spurs.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spur-shrouding device which resists punctures and is highly durable.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spur-shrouding device which readily accommodates spurs of significantly varying lengths.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spur-shrouding device which withstands substantial abuse caused by active and aggressive birds.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a spur-shrouding device with a penetration-resistant internal member which is reliably held in its position and orientation within a spur cover.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spur-shrouding device with a penetration-resistant internal member which resists rotation and dislodgement despite many different kinds of abuse.
These and other objects will be apparent from the descriptions herein.
The invention is an improved device for shrouding the spur of a bird to prevent the bird from injuring other birds. The device is an improvement in devices of the kind including a spur cover forming a spur-receiving cavity which extends generally along an axis from an open end to a closed end, and a retaining strap extending from the spur cover. The improved spur-shrouding device includes a penetration-resistant member secured adjacent to the cavity and positioned and arranged to prevent the spur from poking through and rupturing the spur cover.
In preferred embodiments, the spur cover is formed of a first elastomeric material having a first hardness, and the penetration-resistant member within the spur cover is formed of a second elastomeric material of a second hardness greater than the first hardness. In certain preferred embodiments, the first hardness is less than about 40 durometer measured on a Shore A hardness scale, and the second hardness is about 40-100 durometer measured on a Shore A hardness scale. More preferably, the penetration-resistant member has a Shore A hardness of about 45-70 durometer, such that the penetration-resistant member is soft enough to be deformable with the spur cover material. Most preferably the spur cover is of a material having a Shore A hardness no greater than about 25 durometer and a percent elongation of at least 300%.
As with certain prior devices, the spur cover and retaining strap are preferably an integrally-molded structure and the retaining strap has an aperture therein such that the retaining strap may be wound around the leg of the bird and the spur cover thereafter inserted through the aperture, to secure the spur-shrouding device in place.
It is highly preferred that the penetration-resistant member be pre-formed and have a spur-engageable surface, and that the spur cover be molded around the penetration-resistant member in a manner such that at least a portion of the spur-engageable surface is at the closed end of the spur-receiving cavity.
The penetration-resistant member preferably has an end portion which forms an endwall at the end of the cavity and is oriented transverse to the axis of the cavity, and a sidewall portion which extends from the endwall toward the open end of the spur cover and has an inner surface surrounding the cavity. This configuration allows the penetration-resistant member to protect substantial portions of the spur cover from the spur, including lateral walls of the cavity. The inner surface of the sidewall portion of the penetration-resistant member is preferably tapered such that the cavity is of progressively smaller cross-sections at positions progressively closer to the endwall. This limits the range of free movement of the spur within the cavity of the spur-shrouding device.
In certain preferred embodiments, the sidewall portion of the penetration-resistant member has an outer surface, and the end portion includes a peripheral edge portion extending beyond the outer surface of the sidewall portion. This arrangement allows spur-cover material along the peripheral edge portion and along the outer surface of the sidewall aid in securing the penetration-resistant member in place.
The peripheral edge portion of the end portion of the penetration-resistant member most preferably has openings through it, preferably spaced openings. This arrangement serves to allow flow of the first elastomeric material therethrough during molding of the spur cover around the penetration-resistant member, and further aids in securing the penetration-resistant member in place within the spur cover.
Certain preferred embodiments also include anti-rotation structure projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface of the sidewall portion of the penetration-resistant member. This serves to prevent rotation of the penetration-resistant member within the spur cover. The anti-rotation structure preferably includes plurality of substantially axially-parallel elongate members extending from the peripheral edge portion toward the open end of the spur cover. Such elongate members provide substantial resistance preventing unwanted relative rotation, and assuring appropriate positioning and orientation of the penetration-resistant member in the spur cover.
The invention involves a penetration-resistant member secured within the spur-receiving cavity of a spur cover, the penetration-resistant member being positioned and arranged to prevent the spur from poking through and rupturing the spur cover.
The invention also involves a method of manufacturing the above-described spur-shrouding device. The method involves pre-forming the penetration-resistant member described above and then injection molding the spur cover around such penetration-resistant member.